What is a Holter Monitor and Why Am I Wearing It?

April 22, 2009

What is a Holter Monitor and Why Am I Wearing It?

I got a lesson yesterday that sometimes the mind is stronger than the body.

Never would I have thought that I would have to wear a heart holter monitor but with my family history and Type 2 diabetes it made sense. I had a stress test yesterday afternoon that I thought would only take an hour but it turned into me becoming the office guinea pig. They slowly worked the treadmill up to a anaerobic level and they monitor your heart with about 30 leads attached to my body. After 1 person left to go get someone else in the office I was getting a bit concerned but the technician told me to continue.

The concern was that a normal maximum heart beat is 220 minus your age so about 183 for me. The readings they saw were between 194-201. So looking at the monitor you would have thought Lance Armstrong was on the machine but then looking at me it was more like the opposite.

Long story short I was told to take it easy today and no work but I love what I do. I have to wear a holter monitor. Then later today I have an appointment for a echocardiogram that will tell if there are any blockages or enlargements. The Dr suspects I’m just an awesome guy with a stronger than normal heart but the family history and my diabetes makes him suspicions.